Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on the Future of Asean 2023 (ICoFA 2023)

Conference name: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on the Future of Asean 2023 (ICoFA 2023)
Date: 15-16 March 2023
Location: Perlis, Malaysia (Virtual)
Website: https://sites.google.com/uitm.edu.my/icofa2022

We are pleased to present the proceedings of the 4th International Conference on the Future of ASEAN 2023 (ICoFA 2023). ICoFA 2023 was held virtually during March 15–16, 2023. The conference was run on two thrusts which are ASEAN Economic Community and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.

ASEAN countries are diverse, with GDP per capita ranging from about USD1,297 in Myanmar, a lower-middle income country, to USD64,041 in Singapore, a high-income advanced economy. ASEAN marked its 50th anniversary in 2017 with relatively prosperous development in five decades, with the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015 as one of the key milestones as well as the achievements of Millennium Development Goals 2015. Building on the past successes via Millennium Development Goals 2015, especially in areas such as poverty eradication, better health outcomes and quality education, ASEAN countries are poised to make more inclusive progress toward the newly adopted development agenda of Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDG 2030), which cover a wider set of interlinked development objectives under its 17 goals.

The economic dynamism of the ASEAN region on the back of its strong income growth, continuous structural transformation and infrastructure improvements is expected to support sustainable development in the region. From the IMF Report (September 2018), most ASEAN countries, with their continued income growth and strong policy efforts, are on track to eradicate absolute poverty by 2030, while some of these countries are already doing well in terms of gender equality. Similarly, improvement in universal primary education completion is one of the key progress areas made by the majority of ASEAN countries. Despite these achievements, challenges persist, hence, we need to ensure amore inclusive and environmentally sustainable development in the region. Income inequality remains relatively high in several countries, and the shift toward manufacturing has strained environmental sustainability in the region. Furthermore, the other remaining development challenges call for a more comprehensive and integrated approach via the intra-ASEAN initiatives.

Thus, we cordially invite policymakers, industrial practitioners, researchers, academicians and stakeholders from Malaysia and other countries are invited to submit and present original papers of conceptual, empirical, policy, and case studies based on the two major thrusts which are the ASEAN Economic Community and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.

We were delighted this year to collaborate with Hatyai University, Universitas Multi Data Palembang, Anhui Business College, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Universiti College of Yayasan Pahang, Institut Penyelidikan dan Inovasi Zakat, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah International Islamic University, and Kolej Universiti Islam Perlis. These collaborations have increased the participation of a diverse group of national and international researchers. We received 93 submissions, among which 28 were assigned to at least two independent reviewers to have a rigorous and convincing evaluation process. A total of 126 reviewers were involved in the review process. The conference proceedings volume editors and Atlantis Press Editorial Board made the final decisions on acceptance, with 28 of the 93 submissions (30%) being published in the conference proceedings.

We would like to thank the authors who submitted manuscripts to ICoFA 2023. We also thank the reviewers for voluntarily spending their valuable time reviewing the papers. We thank all conference committee members for their tremendous time, ideas, and efforts in ensuring the success of ICoFA 2023. We also wish to thank the Atlantis Press Editorial Board, organizations, and sponsors for their continuous support. We sincerely hope that ICoFA2023 has provided a venue for knowledge sharing, publication of good research findings, and new research collaborations. Finally, we hope everyone has benefited from the keynote and parallel sessions and had an enjoyable and memorable experience at ICoFA 2023.

Nursyamilah Annuar
Sabiroh Md Sabri
Ismalaili Ismail
Mahyudin Ahmad
Farah Lina Azizan Nurul Labanihuda Abdull Rahman
Nurwahida Fuad